AG: Navy dumps hazardous material into Puget Sound

SEATTLE — Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson says the U.S. Navy dumped hazardous waste, including copper and zinc, into Puget Sound and must be stopped from doing it again.

The Seattle Times reports Ferguson’s office notified the Navy Thursday of the state’s intent to join a suit in federal court to ask the Navy to clean up the mess and to require it to stop scraping ships at Navy Base Kitsap and dumping the material in Sinclair Inlet.

Ferguson says while cleaning a decommissioned aircraft carrier in January 2017, the Navy dumped scraped-off paint into Sinclair Inlet, in violation of state and federal laws.

Ferguson says marine life, including salmon, is at risk because of the Navy’s practices.

No one at the naval base returned a call and email for comment from the newspaper Thursday.